22 THE WEEKEND NEOS KOSMOS | SATURDAY 22 JULY 2017 DIGITAL.NEOSKOSMOS.COM Delving into the supernatural or delving into one’s own weakness? I went to a psychic and I did it all. The cards, the coffee cup readings; I had my aura checked. Here’s what happened. NELLY SKOUFATOGLOU Life is hard and more often than not we find ourselves questioning our very existence whilst walking through it. As tough as it may be, there is hardly anything more rewarding that the selfknowledge accumulated from one's own ability to overcome unfortunate predicaments. There are times in life, how- ever, where pain takes over and sadness clouds our judgement and our cognitive abilities to the point where logical thinking and crisis management evades our power. Personally, I always defined myself as a non-believer, a skeptic; devil's advocate even, when it comes to questioning and exposing people and practices that claim one's future can be foreseen. I would doubt the abilities of psychics, mediums, fortune tellers, magicians and whatnot and even go as far as to make fun of people who choose to address their issue not on a therapist's couch, but through a deck of tarot cards or a cup of Greek coffee. I had seen Fotini Katsaneris on social media before; I had befriended her on Facebook after a colleague of mine had a house cleansing. Her style didn't fit into the stereotype I had associated with psychics; she wasn't a dark, gothic, mysterious, scary persona that keeps to herself. The bub- bly proud-to-be-Greek blonde image could not sink in, and I definitely was disturbed with the use of the thymiato, the cross and religious icons alongside decks of cards and upside down cups. Even though I do not see myself as religious, and having been brought up believing it is a sin to mix religion with the occult, Fotini's practices confused me. At the same time, I couldn't get over the number of troubled people hitting her up for a reading or comments raving about her flytzani (cup reading) abilities - the most recent addition to her services list. It wasn't until a rather confusing turn of personal lifeevents and a disagreement with a friend over whether going to Fotini is the right approach to deal with their mental health issues that I decided to book an appointment for a reading. "If she can figure out what's gone down in my life, read my past and see into my future given that most of my personal information is exactly that, very personal - I'll let you have it," I said, adding that I would most likely come up with an opinion piece naming and shaming all the tricksters out there. The plan was to go in wearing my big smile, act like nothing is bothering me and make sure I am not giving away too much; perhaps even try to confuse her. The moment I stepped into her apartment, she picked up on my mood - which on that day couldn't have been worse due to a series of unlucky predicaments - and made me sit down until I was completely relaxed. Even though I was hiding it well, she saw right through me and subtly described exactly was was going through my head and inside my stomach. I advised myself not to fall for it and kept playing it cool. The journalist in me started dropping questions even before she had asked me what my full name and date of birth was to go on with the first reading. I told her how her bright white-pink-grey home filled with icons was confusing me, considering what we were about to do. "It does not confuse me at all," she said. "I believe in God, in his power. I'm Greek Orthodox and I pray all the time. I prayed before you entered my space and I will pray again the moment you step out. "The icons and the incense are for my protection. As much as some people in our church insist this is evil, at the same time they can't deny this kind of energy exists. Some people are more in tune with it than others. I can feel it around me because it is real. I don't use my ability to harm people but to help, or at least help people put their thoughts in order. Sometimes it is draining and a procedure that can affect me deeply, especially if the energy that comes with a person or a place is dark. I find that God and prayer helps me shake that off and protects me." Within a few minutes we were already going through my first card reading using the oldest deck of playing cards I have ever seen. "People are surprised I can tell which cards come up but I've done this thousands of times and if you look closely you can tell," she explains whilst I'm trying to decipher the cues. "This deck belonged to my grandmother. I learned this from her. It's really old and I like its energy." Fotini actually spent the time to take the cards of importance aside and go through what she "felt" they meant. "I won't necessarily give you something nice, that will make you happy. I will just tell you what I see. It could be unpleasant. And it is." With that certainty, she took notes of what she saw my current state of mind was, asking me to cut the deck again, and again. She insisted on who the people that appeared in the reading were, and what their relation to me was. I still acted as if I was leading the most boring life and that nothing in particular was bothering me. She disagreed and went on to describe my emotions and angst about very specific things one by one. She then went on to describe my family situation, which is not typical and I have always kept to myself. She couldn't have known the nature of my relationship to members of my family in Greece even if she had stalked me on social media, even if she personally knew my relatives here in Australia. I thought she got lucky. She kept taking notes pushing all the cards that refer to the past aside. "What's in the past is in the past and that's where it belongs. You shouldn't worry yourself about what happened. You should focus on the present and the future. Focus on what matters for you. “This is what is tormenting you the most,” she said, drawing a single card and placing it on top of the others. At first I tried telling her that this is just an old issue, resolved, insignificant even but I gave her the benefit of the doubt and ‘allowed’ her - out of curiosity - to do a separate reading on that card (by that time I was secretly begging for it). Psychic Fotini Katsaneris She predicted a woman of age contacting me and bringing me good news. An old couple she said that I would see again and be happy. I could only think of my aunt and uncle but in her opinion, we aren't related. I only recalled this 'hit' less than a week later as a woman of age I'd met through common acquaintances had asked for my number and messaged me in the middle of the night, telling me she had missed me and asked to catch up. I was very fond of her and her husband and enjoyed the company of their children, but never in a million years would I have thought these people would remember me let alone reach out. I thought I would never cross paths with them again. Fotini confronted me with many deep-rooted perceptions I have for the world and myself. She confronted me bringing up facts and feelings I keep hidden from everyone else. She told me things I did not want to hear, but while she was talking to me she was also giving me advice on how to “take away the focus from other people and direct it back to Nelly”. What surprised me is that even though sometimes I acted as if the information she was passing on was irrelevant she would insist on her reading but at the same time her energy and the way she elaborated on and interpreted the